


Dragon Tales

by 98_7



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Gen, a bit dramatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 10:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18247886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/98_7/pseuds/98_7
Summary: Pomegranate and Nassau make their way to the meeting, hidden away in the corner of their new territory, expecting the same boring news. However, seems like fire is arising in Kani again.





	Dragon Tales

**Author's Note:**

> A Flight Rising commission I wrote for a friend.

The busy inventor was sitting by the large metal table in the middle of her workshop, feeling her way around her toolbox for the tools she had to use for her newest project, grumbling to herself as she laid them out and then felt around the bags strapped to her body. Where was that damn drawing compass? Did Hypatia “borrow” it again during her last visit? But it was so easy to just make one! Nassau sat beside her, intently watching her look for it, while it was sitting in one of the packed bags around his shoulder. He coughed and laid his head on the table, eyes droopy with boredom. Every time he spoke up while she was angrily looking for something, she would snap at him… So what was the point?  


“While I look for this compass, go and check what phase the moon is in tonight,” she finally said after a few minutes of grunting and complaining under her breath. Quietly, he reached into his bag to pull out the compass, carefully sneaked it into one of hers, and made his way over to a window. The young dragon pressed his face against the cold window, his hot breath fogging up the glass, and squinted up at the bright night sky. Thick clouds were beginning to roll in, signaling the brewing of a storm, but the full moon was there, proudly sitting amongst the sea of stars.  


“It looks like it’s a full moon. The meeting is tonight.” Nassau quietly softed and pulled away from the window, returning to her side and plopping his head back down. He didn’t understand why she always made him accompany her to these meetings. He could easily just stay behind and work on their commissions but she always insisted. Really, he’d rather do anything other than sit in the same room as Kani. Even though her eyes were covered by the hood pulled over her head, he could feel how cold her gaze was and it never failed to give him chills. The only comforting thought was that he was going to see Moitie… The sight of him was enough to slow down his racing heart. Nassau was starting to get lost in his flustering thoughts, Pomegranate could easily tell, since he wasn’t even listening to her talk. She nudged him. He jumped.  


“Hello? Anyone home in that noggin of yours?” He smiled sheepishly, looking up at her now. “Have you been listening to me? Of course, you haven’t. Anyway —” she began, spinning the drawing compass on the table with one of her fingers, “I found it in one of my bags. This is why you should never rush when looking for something. Let’s start this before the meeting, shall we? No time to dilly dally.” Nassau nodded and cleared his throat as he sat up and slid the drawing compass away from her talons. She was teaching him how to sketch out his own ideas — something she didn’t really need to do since she was blind and could just imagine her creations in her head. He always admired that about her, how she could do so much despite the fact that she couldn’t see. He sketched away, concentrating on the softness of his lines and the neatness of his work. 

“Do you think I…” 

“Nassau, we’ve talked about this. You’re coming. You are an important part of this clan. Now, stop talking! I need to hear your pencil, not your mouth.” It was the only way she could see his sketches. She was listening to how hard he pressed his pencil against the paper, how long he made a line, how fast. And when she called out a mistake, she was never wrong. Fine. His brows furrowed and his tongue peeked from the corner of his mouth as he measured out dimensions, going back to his work. After a while of tense silence between them, she wandered away from the table to grab the keys to the workshop from a hook attached to the wall. “What time is it?” He looked up from his drawing to check the clock by the door. Before he could reply, a small wooden dragon popped out of the clock and danced as it chimed, announcing a new hour. Eleven. “Oh, well, thank you, clock. It’s time to go then. Let’s hurry,” Pomegranate said, signaling him to come along with a flick of her tail as she secured the buckles of all her bags and opened the door. After longingly looking down at his paper, wishing he could just stay instead, he let out a defeated huff and accompanied her out the treehouse. She didn’t need to use her echolocation to find her way through the intricate system of bridges they had for the treehouses and she led them down to the lower level of the jungle, rolling her eyes at him jumping at every unknown noise that came from deep within the trees around them. “Oh, stop it. They’re just howling monkeys.” 

“But what if they’re not howling monkeys?” 

“Sometimes I wonder if you were a mouse in your past life, Nassau,” she said, tapping him on the head with the tip of her tail. He even jumped at that, earning a thunderous laugh from her. It was fine though, she wasn’t bothered by his fearful nature. Some dragons were born courageous and some were born cautious. That kept him safe, didn’t it? They paused in the clearing so they could stretch their wings after a long day stuck in such an enclosed space. His jaw and legs ached — probably because it was going to rain soon. He could smell it in the air and the clouds tell no lies. However, a noise stopped him and he stopped to look over at his master. She had stopped too, her head cocked as she listened to their surroundings. Nassau slowly scanned the trees and found four golden eyes peering at them, the owner’s body masked by the shadows of the leaves, branches, and vines — except for a wide sharp grin. 

“Boo.” 

He roared in fear, eyes wide, and immediately took flight to get away from WHATEVER that was, carelessly blasting through the canopy of the jungle. Pomegranate was showered by foliage and shot an icy glare in the hidden dragon’s direction. Now who dared to scare her little kitten? It didn’t take her long to sense what it was due to the malevolent energy radiating from its presence as it glided into the clearing and mischievously giggled, circling her like an eagle would circle its prey. She sat there without a worry though, unamused by what just happened, as it came closer and closer to poke and prod at her. Why be afraid of a poltergeist? They only came out at night to scare other dragons, like children with nothing better to do. It probably caught scent of Nassau’s fear from a mile away and came over for some fun. 

“You’re such a disturbance. Stupid ghoul,” she huffed before spreading her wings and launching herself into the sky, breaking through the canopy with ease. Nassau had been waiting for her, slowly flapping his wings as he paced around, wondering if she had been eaten by whatever monster had been eyeing them. A wave of relief relaxed every part of his body. Until then, he hadn’t realized how tense he got after that encounter. 

“Well? What was it?” 

“Slaugh.” 

“Oh.” They turned and wordlessly began their journey to the underground cave furthest from the lake, the one that Kani picked for their meetings when they first established this clan. It truly felt like they were amongst the stars at that moment. Being above the trees felt so freeing and peaceful. Nassau closed his eyes and he could almost sense the moonlight bathing him in its radiance, gentle celestial fingers made of light brushing against his scales. But the gods couldn’t reach far enough into this domain. Sometimes that scared him. He felt so alone. And he knew that it scared Pomegranate too. He could see the concern on her face during the meetings as Kani lectured them on the mistreatment of their people by the gods, especially by the Gladekeeper. She could hide it well from everyone else but not him, not the one dragon that spent the most time with her. She was always so tense. However, afterwards, she wouldn’t dare criticize Kani. Not out loud, at least. She was content with the life she had and if she had to put her trust in their leader, so be it. Finally, Nassau recognized the landmarks and softly nudged Pomegranate to let her know, careful not to bump into her hard enough to somehow unfasten a bag. She’d literally lose her mind if that ever happened. 

Slowly, they descended to the ground and Nassau guided her through the undergrowth, making sure to make enough noise for her to sense his location but not enough to draw any unwanted attention onto them. He nudged away the shrubs around the entrance and slipped into the cave with his master. There was quiet murmuring coming from deep within as they walked towards the back, their heavy steps echoing eerily. Fire illuminated their meeting space, a huge pit in the center of the room. The unsteady lighting brightened the faces of those present — although comforting that these faces were familiar, the meeting always seemed so intimidating. Nassau hid in Pomegranate’s shadow as they took their places within the small crowd circled around the pit. Kani was where she was expected to be, on a bounder they had rolled here, above everyone else so that your eyes were drawn to her. She had this immense energy radiating from her as she simply sat there with Moitie, it made Nassau cower a little, however Pomegranate’s head was held high and really, she just seemed like she wanted to get this over with. Moitie banged a drum with his tail and the murmurs died down. Their leader cleared her throat and began. 

“Life in our clan has been peaceful. I’ve heard no recent reports of attacks or unrest this month but that does not mean we have been forgotten by our enemies. We are still growing stronger and as we grow stronger, our enemies grow more restless and uneasy. I am proud of our defense so far and I am proud of the technology we have been able to create due to the brilliant minds among us.” Nassau glanced up at Pomegranate, to observe how she received the praise. She remained still, completely the same without a sign of excitement or a sense of achievement, as if her hard work hadn’t just gotten acknowledged. Then, he realized that this wasn’t what she deemed important. She didn’t care about compliments. She didn’t care about this era of war. She just enjoyed making things. “The time to gather all our forces and attack is near. I have been meeting with our commanders and thinking of strategies for our first attack. I won’t share them with you now, they are incomplete, as I hope to perfect them. Nothing short of perfect and efficient will bring an end to the Gladekeeper, once and for all.” Never before had he seen such grave faces. Before, these meetings had been lighthearted, encouraging, boastful. However, it seemed like everyone finally realized how real this was — this talk of war with the gods themselves. There would be death. There would be loss. They could possibly lose their comfortable lives and their homes. No one’s eyes were meeting, they were glued to the fire as the flames danced with the soft breeze, as they all silently thought about what they were putting on the line for this. 

“But no worries…” Kani continued with a light tone now, confident and proud. Dragons shifted around on their feet. The inventor’s brows seemed to furrow, soaked in the very emotion Kani was brushing aside with ease, and Nassau could feel her rising anxiety in the slight wag of her tail. How could they not worry? “I have been strengthening myself, harnessing my raw power, so that I can look the Gladekeeper in the eye and make her feel the weight of all the suffering she has caused to our race. She has been on her throne looking down at her for far too long. She has lost all morals and it is time for a true merciful being to take her place.” By her side, Moitie let out a loud hurrah and the rest of the flock followed. 

Everyone except Pomegranate.


End file.
